Evaluation of Drug Treatement at the State Correctional Institution at Chester: A Partnership Between the PA Doc,

Project Summary for 2002-RT-BX-1002

The proposed project will evaluate the effects of an in-prison, 12-month Therapeutic Community (TC) substance abuse treatment program and a 12-month Outpatient program requiring much less intensive treatment. The programs are located at an innovative, specialized treatment prison, SCI-Chester and graduates of both programs are required to also complete a mandatory, residential, 6-month after care program. Inmates who meet eligibility criteria for SCI-Chester will be randomly assigned to the TC or Outpatient program (approximately 400 inmates in each group). The study will compare the effects of different dosage levels of treatment; examine who benefits most from TC treatment and what inmate characteristics best predict successful completion of programs; and evaluate the effectiveness of the mandatory aftercare program. Data will be collected on inmate misconducts, institutional violence history, offense severity, participation in treatment, employment status, drug tests/relapse, rearrest, and reincarceration. The study uses instruments developed by Texas Christian University with partial funding from NIJ. The instruments were developed specifically for substance abusing inmate populations.

ca/ncf